Review: A Long Journey (The Hobbit)

The Hobbit saw a great deal of turmoil cast its way before the first reel was ever shown. MGM went bankrupt, Guillermo Del Toro dropped out of the project and if all of that weren't bad enough, the first buzz about the film was that the high frame rate made it look like an afternoon soap.

Peter Jackson was always going to have a difficult time bringing another of J.R.R. Tolkien's books to life, given the enviable success he had with Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit is considered to be the lighter of the two stories and when Jackson announced that he was going to extend the story into a trilogy, sighs could be heard "he's doing it again."

The story is familiar enough: a hobbit is asked by Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) to undertake a journey that could prove dangerous. Bilbo may survive, Gandalf contends, but he will never be the same. Thorin Oakenshield and the remaining members of his clan aim to reclaim their kingdom from the dragon Smaug that ravaged their homeland so many ages ago.

There's nothing inherently wrong with The Hobbit, but the repetition and excessive runtime creaks and groans. To boot, it has to contend with the massive expectations created by The Lord of the Rings. Still, the missteps seem to pile up the further the film goes on.

The fourteen dwarves are virtually impossible to distinguish. Characters aren't fleshed out and even the titular Bilbo (Martin Freeman) disappears for long stretches of time. Battle scenes feel tacked on and insignificant. The highs aren't as high and the lows are lower. Everything spectacular has been seen in the previous trilogy, so during the lags you can feel the seconds tick away. The Hobbit only really starts to display a pulse when Gollum (Andy Serkis) challenges Bilbo to a deadly game of riddles.

With all of that said, there is no need to push the Episode I panic button just yet.

Ian McKellen's Gandalf is still as wry and clever as ever as he ever was. Martin Freeman embodies all of the hearth of the Baggins patriarch while incorporating some of Ian Holm's quirks. Richard Armitage also lives up to the mythic reputation as Thorin. These characters are the saving grace of the flick and if Jackson could cleave some of the extra material he added, the dynamic relationships between characters that made Rings so special could be utilized here.

Peter Jackson crops little from the picture and one hopes that the next film is considerably trimmer. The first portion of The Hobbit series stumbles over itself, but the next installment will feature a lot more of Smaug. Let's also hope that it features more Bilbo.

**1/2 out of ****

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Review: Django Grabbed His Gun (Django Unchained)

Eight directorial outings into his filmography, Quentin Tarantino has become his own genre. Riffing on gangster films, Asian cinema, war flicks, and with Django Unchained, the Western. The Western is perhaps the most sacred film to most Americans as its inception unfolded in the U.S. It seems fitting that Tarantino should try to rip the band-aid off of America's great shame in a Western.

With all of that said, all the anxiety punctuated by talk of race is swept aside quickly and efficiently. This is not a dissection of slavery, it is a tale of the lengths one man will go to save his wife. Django (Jamie Foxx, exemplifying the words on Jules Winnfield's wallet) is freed by a German bounty hunter on the hunt for the Brittle Brothers.

Only Django has seen these men's faces and Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) offers him a deal: help him find the brothers and he will help Django find Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). Schultz teaches Django the tools of the trade and he picks it up quickly.

To Django's horror, Schultz informs him that Broomhilda is being by none other than Calvin Candie.

Calvin Candie (a despicably entertaining Leonardo DiCaprio) is the proprietor of Cleopatra Club, a place of refinement, where slaves are forced to beat each other to death or be killed. Candie is a boy who was never told he couldn't have sweets, now, that has led to lurid activities brought to the forefront for his endless amusement. The term schadenfreude may have been invented specifically for him.

If Django is to get her back, he and Schultz will have to avoid the watchful eye of Candie's servant Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson).

Casting has always been a specialty for Tarantino, yet this may be his finest lineup to date. From the great pairings of Foxx/Waltz and DiCaprio/Jackson all the way down to character actors like Don Johnson and Walton Goggins. Everything is aces. There were those who were skeptical of Foxx's casting originally, but he has the charisma to pull this off. Similarly, DiCaprio playing a vicious slave-owner could have resulted in career suicide, yet his devilish turn succeeds.

A film like this could only have been handled by Mr. Tarantino. All of his films involve a knowing wink at the audience and while that worked with revisionist history in Inglourious Basterds, covering race in such a bold manner could raise more viewer's dander. Django Unchained could have very quickly become crass, with such a non-reverent take on a divisive subject, but the riveting dialogue and superb performances from the three leads guarantee entertainment throughout the picture.

Tarantino doesn't have the same across-the-board respect as a director like Martin Scorsese, but the genuine enthusiasm for cinema is there in spades. Westerns have been slowly dying over the last decade, but Django is a staple of what the genre has to offer. Tarantino knows each beat and every flow down to the final showdown. This will be one of the pictures that cements his legacy.

***1/2 out of ****

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Not Christmas, Christmas: Die Hard

The Scene: After managing to take out one of Hans Gruber's goons, John McClane can't resist leaving a message for the man who was taken his wife hostage.

Why We're Thankful: It sets the tone for John and Hans' relationship immediately as instigator vs. antagonist. The tit-fot-tat repertoire offered by Willis and Rickman is a virtual highlight reel that last the entire runtime.

Gift under the tree/Coal for the stocking: Gift. If there is a more quotable line from John McTiernan's film—besides the obvious one—I haven't found it.

Thanks for reading this five part series, everyone, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a wonderful Boxing Day.

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Not Christmas, Christmas: Rare Exports

The Scene: We are first introduced to "Santa Claus" in his holding cell. The jolly old elf, not as warm as one would expect. All children are naughty in his mind and none are worth sparing.

What We're Thankful For: Christmas films usually don't lend themselves to the macabre, but this treasure from Finland manages to turn the holiday on its head in a most amusing fashion. Don't let small ones see this flick though, not even Michael Myers dressed as Santa is this scarring.

Gift under the tree/Coal for your stocking: Gift. It's about time some filmmaker questioned the motives of a man who sneaks into your home to leave presents for small children.

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Not Christmas, Christmas: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Scene: Lisbeth (Rooney Mara), over the course of her dealings with Mikael (Daniel Craig), has grown close to another person. Despite everything in her life that has led her to believe otherwise, she has placed faith in a man. So much so that she bought him a Christmas gift.

What We're Thankful For: In a scene that many decry as a case of too many endings, Lisbeth goes to Mikael's home to share a present and intimacy. When Mikael walks out with his mistress hanging on his arm, the jacket she purchased finds a new home in the trash.

Gift under the tree/Coal for your stocking: This scene is darkly comic in only a way that David Fincher can pull off—don't forget this is also the same man who played Enya's "Orinoco Flow" during a torture scene thirty minutes earlier. Fincher couldn't have found a better way to include the spirit and love of the season than by showing Lisbeth throwing away her affections in the garbage. "Merry Christmas."

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Not Christmas, Christmas: The Proposition

The Scene: The Stanleys (Emily Watson and Ray Winstone) sit down to a proper dinner during what is perhaps the most brutal film that takes place on Christmas. Captain Stanley freed Charlie Burns in the hopes that he would help capture his psychotic brother, Arthur. With this being a John Hillcoat film, things don't work out the way the characters hope for. 

What We're Thankful For: What was already a very tense film, is launched into another stratosphere of nerves when Arthur, Charlie and the Captain collide at the Stanleys home.

Gift under the tree/Coal for your stocking: Coal. While the scene that takes place afterward keeps viewers digging their nails into the armrests of their chairs, there couldn't be a worse way for a Christmas dinner to end. Except for Grandma to start talking about that hot-piece-of-ass Errol Flynn.

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot #10

The game where I throw out one of cinema's more obscure quotes and you try to guess it. Readers are currently 5 for 9. Let's see if you can name the holiday classic this quote is from.

"Merry Christmas, Argyle."

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Review: Kentucky Fried Camp (Killer Joe)

In all of the folklore presented in cinema there have been many black hats. Evil men possessed by some spirit to cause harm to others, sometimes for money, sometimes for fun. One of the first black hats that comes immediately to mind is Henry Fonda in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West. Stunt casting in the truest sense of the word, Fonda shocked audiences in how indiscriminately he mowed down innocents.

I mention Henry Fonda's casting in that film because it so similarly matches Matthew McConaughey as the titular Killer Joe. For years McConaughey was the charming young man who was a staple of romantic comedies, here, he possesses a terrifying formality. Joe is hired to kill people. The good looking man seen so many times before lulls you in right before the trap snaps shut on you. It's the beauty of his casting, the smile is still there, but it hides a vicious streak.

Chris (Emile Hirsch) is a career screw-up, his best prospects came in the form of cocaine that he was supposed to sell. The problem? His mother took them and sold them out from under him. That money was going to go a long way for Chris and now he's facing the possibility of being buried alive in electric tape by men he owes $6,000 to.

Chris can came up with the money, but he'll have to convince his father, the dull-witted Ansel (Thomas Haden Church) and his naive sister Dottie (Juno Temple) to hire Joe to take her out. She has a $50,000 policy and it does not take much prodding for them to all agree they'd be better off with her dead.

Whether the proceedings can be labeled a comedy of errors, or melodrama is entirely up to the viewer. For all of the blood and brutality of the film, an act performed on a piece of fried chicken should immediately clue the audience in on the joke (seriously, John Waters has it in his top ten). Watching buffoons try this hard to become rich is vaguely reminiscent of a slapstick film from the 1920s, only with far more swearing.

Matthew McConaughey is in the midst of a career renaissance right now with Lincoln Lawyer and Magic Mike, but Killer Joe is the film that chews up his rom-com resume and sets it ablaze. It's a risk for an actor who previously hadn't taken any and Tracy Letts and William Friedkin give him more than enough material to really hang himself.

Short of Sam Shepard's early plays, very few pieces of fiction have presented such a dire portrait of Middle America: punching women, murder-for-hire, drug dealing: all in a day's work. Joe requires a skewed sense of humor to get through, but if you can keep with it, it's worth it. Someone pass the bucket.

***/****

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Ryan Gosling is a Bad Father in 'Place Beyond the Pines'

Been looking forward to this trailer being released for some time. Derek Cianfrance's epic about fathers, crime and order was originally due to be released this year, but was pushed back to March after being acquired by Focus Features. Count this as my most anticipated film for 2013.

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2012 Nevada Film Critics Society Awards

The Nevada Film Critics Society announced their selections for best in film of 2012. A nice mix of films are all represented as are a few of my own favorites from the year.

Film - Argo
Actor - John Hawkes (The Sessions)
Actress - TIE - Helen Hunt (The Sessions) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Supporting Actor - Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
Supporting Actress - Sally Field (Lincoln)
Youth Performance - Tom Holland (The Impossible)
Director - TIE - Ben Affleck (Argo) and Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)
Ensemble Cast - Lincoln
Animated Movie - Frankenweenie
Production Design - Les Miserables
Cinematography - Life Of Pi
Visual Effects - Life Of Pi

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Pegg Tweets First Look at 'The World's End'

Courtesy of Simon Pegg's twitter page, we now have out first look at the recently wrapped The World's End, the final installment of Edgar Wright's Blood & Cornetto trilogy. Judging from how the leads are dressed, Pegg is either playing a guy down on his luck, or a Chris Angel enthusiast. It's hard to say.

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Not Christmas, Christmas: Batman Returns

The Scene: The Penguin's cronies attack Gotham during the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony hosted by the mayor and Max Schreck (Christopher Walken).

What We're Thankful For: The stark contrast provided by winter's snow and the dark cityscape of Tim Burton's Batman were oddly beautiful. Adding to the aesthetic pleasures were the oddly familiar sense of loneliness exhibited by both Batman and Catwoman during the most cheerful time of year.

Gift under the tree/Coal for your stocking: Gift. This may be Burton's weirder Batman, but it satisfies the needs of a perfect weird Christmas film: Walken, garish gift wrap, Danny DeVito stealing children, etc. A nice alternative to the other Burton X-mas film, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

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Review: Hitch and His Ladies (Hitchcock)

Retirement is rapping at Alfred Hitchcock's (Anthony Hopkins) door and he is becoming acutely aware of it. North by Northwest has done smashingly well, yet Hitch is unsatisfied. Critics have him down to a T, he will never make another film as good as Lifeboat or The 39 Steps, they say. Maybe he should just call it quits.

Inspiration soon strikes him in the form of Ed Gein, the notorious killer from Wisconsin, whose exploits have turned into a scandalous new novel. The likes of which Hitch thinks he can make a great horror film with. The problem with that is Hitch is trying to make that film in 1960s America. Moral codes and overly cranky members of ratings board are going to make it nearly impossible for the infamous shower scene to be made. With Paramount also holding that tidy bit of information, it will be difficult for the Mr. Hitchcock to get the picture off the ground.

Still, Hitch has his wife Alma (the always wonderful Helen Mirren) in his corner. That is until he puts their home up as collateral. Alma has never felt like her effort has been measured with due respect, but when Hitch doesn't  even look at a story treatment she thinks might make a good story, she has had enough. Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston) is offering her a story credit on his script and she takes him up on it.

Let's see if the Master of Suspense can succeed without Alma at his side. Their sudden closeness causes Hitch concern.

What strikes this writer as curious is the division Hitchcock has created amongst his fans. Hitch's detours he spends with Ed Gein are not as distracting as the psychological analysis offered by The Girl. Like a Psych 101 student, the other Hitchcock film tries too hard to interpret meaning out of everything.

These vignettes of macabre comedy serve the purpose of illuminating Hitch's paranoid delusions. Hitch starts acting much like the characters in his films, peeping through door-holes, waking up in a panic, picking sand off of the floor whilst contemplating his wife's actions.

Hitchcock is predominantly about the making of his most commercially successful film, but at its heart lies a love story about the woman behind the man. Anthony Hopkin's makeup may not win any Oscars, but Hopkins finds what ails the director. He grounds the man renowned for his skills as lost in this new stage of his career. Similarly, Mirren provides a weighty counterpart to her film-husband. Rounding out the excellent cast are Scarlett Johansson doing her best to portray the original scream queen, Jessica Biel as the slighted Vera Miles, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg and Danny Huston.

Hitchcock is one of the better acted movies of the year and the offering of a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most seminal pictures of its time only adds to the fun. Don't let the backlash keep you from giving it a look yourself. A man of Hitchcock's stature merits a biopic that is entertaining and this one delivers.

***/**** 

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Second 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Trailer

We boldly venture to watch another thrilling trailer with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto looking panicked...

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot #9

The game where I throw out one of cinema's more obscure quotes and you try to guess it. Readers are currently 4 for 8 . Let's see if you can name the film this quote is from.

"What is this “Hump a Limey Week” suddenly? Otto doesn’t approve. Otto might get jealous."

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Warner Bros. Holiday Giveaway

Warner Bros. and PartnersHub is hosting one last giveaway before the end of the year. You could win a Blu-ray Combo Pack of Magic Mike or The Dark Knight Rises (prize will be chosen randomly from the above titles!)
All you need to do is leave a comment below and one winner will be chosen at random. Contest ends December 19th, U.S residents only, please. Good luck!

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Where to See Extended 'Star Trek' Previews

If you are not sure where to find the IMAX extended previews of Star Trek Into Darkness, then this list should prove fruitful to your endeavors.

Alabama Carmike Patton Creek 16; IMAX, Hoover Cobb Hollywood 16; IMAX, Tuscaloosa Alaska Regal Tikahtnu Commons Stadium 16; IMAX, Anchorage Arkansas Dickinson Chenal 9, IMAX, Little Rock Arizona  Dickinson Gateway 12, IMAX, Mesa AMC Deer Valley 30; IMAX, Phoenix AMC Loews Foothills 15; IMAX, Tucson California AMC Burbank 16; IMAX, Burbank Edwards Fresno Stadium 22; IMAX, Fresno AMC Century City 15; IMAX, Los Angeles Esquire IMAX, Sacramento AMC Palm Promenade 24; IMAX, San Diego AMC Van Ness 14 + IMAX, San Francisco AMC Downtown Disney 12; IMAX, Anaheim Colorado UA Colorado Mills Stadium 16; IMAX, Lakewood UA Colorado Center Stadium 9; IMAX, Denver AMC Westminster Promenade 24; IMAX, Denver Connecticut AMC Loews Danbury 16; IMAX, Danbury Rave Buckland Hills 18; IMAX, Manchester Florida AMC Universal Cineplex 20; IMAX, Orlando AMC Regency 24; IMAX, Jacksonville AMC Veterans 24; IMAX, Tampa Cobb Dolphin 19 ; IMAX, Miami Muvico Parisian; IMAX, West Palm Beach Georgia Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station 16; IMAX, Atlanta Regal Augusta Exchange Stadium 20; IMAX, Augusta AmStar 16; IMAX, Macon Hawaii Regal Dole Cannery 18; IMAX, Honolulu Idaho Edwards Boise Stadium 22; IMAX, Boise Illinois AMC Showplace Naperville 16; IMAX, Naperville Carmike Grand Prairie 18; IMAX, Peoria AMC Showplace Rockford 16; IMAX, Rockford Indiana Carmike Jefferson Pointe 18; IMAX, Ft. Wayne AMC Showplace Indianapolis 17; IMAX, Indianapolis Iowa AMC Star Council Bluffs 17; IMAX, Council Bluffs Rave Davenport 53; IMAX, Davenport Kansas AMC Studio 28; IMAX, Olathe Warren West IMAX, Wichita Kentucky Rave Stonybrook 20; IMAX, Louisville AMC Newport on the Levee 20; IMAX, Newport Louisiana Rave Mall of Louisiana 15; IMAX, Baton Rouge AMC Clearview Palace 12 with IMAX, Metairie Maryland AMC Loews White Marsh 16; IMAX, Baltimore Regal Westview Stadium 16; IMAX, Frederick AMC Loews Rio Cinemas 18; IMAX, Gaithersburg Maine Saco Cinemagic; IMAX, Saco Massachusetts AMC Loews Boston Common 19; IMAX, Boston Showcase Cinemas Randolph; IMAX, Randolph Michigan Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids North; IMAX, Grand Rapids Celebration! Cinema; IMAX, Lansing AMC Star Fairlane 21; IMAX, Dearborn Minnesota AMC Eden Prairie Mall 18; IMAX, Eden Prairie AMC Southdale 16; IMAX, Edina AMC Arbor Lakes 16; IMAX, Maple Grove

Missouri Springfield 11; IMAX, Springfield Wehrenberg Ronnies 20 Cine; IMAX, St. Louis AMC BarryWoods 24; IMAX, Kansas City Nebraska AMC Oakview 24; IMAX, Omaha New Hampshire Hooksett Cinemagic; IMAX, Hooksett New Jersey AMC Clifton Commons 16; IMAX, Cliffton AMC Jersey Gardens 20; IMAX, Elizabeth AMC Loews New Brunswick 18; IMAX, New Brunswick Nevada Brenden Theatres and IMAX at the Palms, Las Vegas Regal Aliante Stadium 16; IMAX, Las Vegas Regal Sunset Station Stadium 13; IMAX, Henderson    New York Regal Crossgates Mall Stadium 18; IMAX, Albany Regal Sheepshead Bay Stadium 14; IMAX, Brooklyn AMC Loews 34th Street 14; IMAX, New York AMC Loews Kips Bay 15; IMAX, New York City Center 15: Cinema de Lux; IMAX, White Plains North Carolina Regal Stonecrest At Piper Glen Stadium 22; IMAX, Charlotte AMC Concord Mills 24; IMAX, Concord Southpoint Cinemas; IMAX, Durham Wells Fargo IMAX Theatre at Marbles- Raleigh Ohio AMC Easton Town Center 30; IMAX, Columbus AMC Lennox Town Center 24; IMAX, Columbus Oklahoma AMC Southroads 20; IMAX, Tulsa AMC Quail Springs Mall 24; IMAX, Oklahoma City Moore Warren IMAX, Moore Oregon Regal Old Mill Stadium 16; IMAX, Bend Regal Valley River Center 15; IMAX, Eugene Regal Lloyd Center 10 Cinema; IMAX, Portland Pennsylvania UA King of Prussia Stadium 16; IMAX, King of Prussia AMC Franklin Mills 14; IMAX, Philadelphia RC Reading Movies 11; IMAX, Reading Rhode Island Providence Place Cinemas 16; IMAX, Providence    South Carolina Citadel Mall IMAX Stadium 16, Charleston Tennessee Regal Streets of Indian Lake Stadium 16; IMAX, Hendersonville Regal Pinnacle Stadium 18; IMAX, Knoxville Regal Opry Mills Stadium 20; IMAX, Nashville Texas AMC The Parks at Arlington 18; IMAX, Arlington AMC Barton Creek Square 14; IMAX, Austin AMC Northpark 15; IMAX, Dallas AMC Gulf Pointe 30; IMAX, Houston Santikos Palladium IMAX, San Antonio Utah ATK IMAX, Clark Planetarium, Salt Lake City Megaplex 17; IMAX Jordan Commons, Sandy Virginia AMC Hoffman Center 22; IMAX, Alexandria AMC Hampton Towne Centre 24; IMAX, Hampton AMC Lynnhaven 18; IMAX, Virginia Beach Washington IMAX Lincoln Square Cinemas, Bellevue Regal Thornton Place Stadium 14; IMAX, Seattle AMC River Park Square 20; IMAX, Spokane Washington DC AMC Loews Georgetown 14; IMAX, Washington DC Wisconsin AMC Star Fitchburg 18; IMAX, Fitchburg

Don't worry, Canada, we didn't forget about you.

Alberta Scotiabank Chinook & IMAX, Calgary Empire Studio 16 Country Hills & IMAX, Calgary Scotiabank Edmonton & IMAX, Edmonton British Columbia Colossus Langley& IMAX, Langley SilverCity Riverport & IMAX, Richmond SilverCity Victoria Cinemas & IMAX, Victoria Manitoba SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas & IMAX, Winnipeg Newfoundland Empire Studio 12 Gateway Park & IMAX, St. John’s

Nova Scotia Empire 18 Cinemas & IMAX , Halifax  Ontario SilverCity London Cinemas & IMAX, London SilverCity Windsor Cinemas & IMAX, Windsor Empire Theatres Kitchener & IMAX, Kitchener Coliseum Mississauga & IMAX, Mississauga Quebec Mega-Plex Taschereau 18 & IMAX, Greenfield Park Mega-Plex Pont Viau 16, Laval Mega-Plex Marche Central 18, Montreal Mega-Plex Terrebonne 14 &IMAX, Terrebonne

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Globes Nominations Tread Worn Path

While the Golden Globes traditionally have been known for nominating odd performances in mismatched categories, this year the Hollywood Foreign Press have played it conservatively. The only surprises of these nominees are the mentions for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (McGregor and Blunt), which hasn't received much consideration elsewhere, and Django Unchained's two supporting actors (DiCaprio and Waltz) are nominated. Lincoln, Les Mis, and Zero Dark Thirty lead the pack, but Django didn't do too poorly either with five nods.

Quentin Tarantino had this to say about the Globes announcements: "It's very gratifying to get this many nominations from the HFPA for a film I worked so hard on and am so passionate about. I look forward to having fun at the Golden Globes with my cast mates and fellow nominees."

Leonardo DiCaprio: “I’m truly honored to be nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association today. Django Unchained was a remarkable experience and I consider myself lucky to work with Quentin and the entire cast on the film. I’m particularly proud to be named alongside my fellow Django nominees.”

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA

"Zero Dark Thirty"

"Argo"

"Lincoln"

"Life of Pi"

"Django Unchained"

BEST PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

"Silver Linings Playbook"

"Les Miserables"

"Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

"Moonrise Kingdom"

"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA

Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln"

Richard Gere for "Arbitrage"

John Hawkes for "The Sessions"

Denzel Washington for "Flight"

Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master"

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

Marion Cotillard for "Rust and Bone"

Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty"

Naomi Watts for "The Impossible"

Rachel Weisz for "The Deep Blue Sea"

Helen Mirren for "Hitchcock"

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables"

Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook"

Jack Black for "Bernie"

Ewan McGregor for "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

Bill Murray for "Hyde Park On Hudson"

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook"

Meryl Streep for "Hope Springs"

Judi Dench for "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Maggie Smith for "Quartet"

Emily Blunt for "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tommy Lee Jones for "Lincoln"

Leonardo DiCaprio for "Django Unchained"

Phillip Seymour Hoffman for "The Master"

Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained"

Alan Arkin for "Argo"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables"

Sally Field for "Lincoln"

Helen Hunt for "The Sessions"

Nicole Kidman for "The Paperboy"

Amy Adams for "The Master"

BEST DIRECTOR

Ang Lee for "Life of Pi"

Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty"

Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained"

Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln"

Ben Affleck for "Argo"

BEST SCREENPLAY

"Zero Dark Thirty"

"Argo"

"Lincoln"

"Django Unchained"

"Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

"Rise of the Guardians"

"Brave"

"Frankenweenie"

"Hotel Transylvania"

"Wreck-It Ralph"

BEST FOREIGN FILM

"The Intouchables"

"Rust and Bone"

"Amour"

"A Royal Affair"

"Kon-Tiki"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Adele ("Skyfall" for "Skyfall")

Jon Bon Jovi ("Not Running Anymore" for "Stand Up Guys")

Hugh Jackman ("Suddenly" for "Les Miserables")

"For You" for "Act of Valor"

Taylor Swift ("Safe and Sound" for "Hunger Games")

BEST SCORE

Mychael Danna for "Life of Pi"

Alexandre Desplat for "Argo"

Dario Marianelli for "Anna Karenina"

John Williams for "Lincoln" 

Reinhold Helil & Johnny Kilmek for "Cloud Atlas"

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Slinging in the Rain: Wolverine Debuts New Art

This GIF doesn't reveal much about Wolverine or its plot, but how often do I get the chance to riff on the title of a Hollywood classic?

(Courtesy: Official Site)

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'Pacific Rim' Trailer

It's official: Idris Elba is the most kick-ass man on the planet. Guillermo Del Toro confirmed as much by making him the captain on a mission that sends giant robots to fight monsters of Godzilla-like proportions. This I will gladly plant down extra money to see in 3D.

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For Your Consideration: Christopher Nolan

Until recently, capes and cowls were a less respected director's game. Flops like The Shadow and Batman and Robin had made it almost impossible for an A-list auteur to get withing a hundred feet of the genre. Then Sam Raimi and Bryan Singer took Spider-man and X-Men to unparalleled heights. Perhaps it was just the matter of getting the right person behind the lens.

After Warner Bros. chose him to take over the rebooting of their biggest icon, Christopher Nolan rewarded them by turning in two of the greatest comic book films of all-time. The problem that faced him afterward: ending the series on a high-note.

Nolan took all of life's anxieties and placed them in front of our eyes. A terrorist attack on a football stadium, financial market takeover, plane hijackings, nuclear weapons. The escapism of one of pop culture's biggest icons was thrown out the window. Every moral and social ill reflected on an eighty foot screen.

Similar to Peter Jackson's careful crafting in bringing an epic trilogy to a close, Mr. Nolan left nothing on the table and set upon leaving a legacy as large as the shadow Batman casts over Gotham. The Dark Knight Rises may not be the film that The Dark Knight was, overzealous marketing hyped the conclusion to a fever-pitch with almost unbearable standards to live up to. Still, that didn't stop him from amping the scale of the film up to 11. His handling of the IMAX footage created easily some of the most jaw-dropping shots of the entire year.

The Academy's snub of both Nolan and The Dark Knight in 2008 led to the rule named after the director that created for more than five films to be nominated for Best Picture. Whether or not they will see fit to reward Mr. Nolan or The Dark Knight Rises has yet to be seen. There is little word in awards races, but the AFI did include the film in its top ten films of 2012. A sign of things to come, or a casual nod to a picture that has gone overlooked? A January morning will have to tell.

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'Man of Steel' Trailer

The man behind Superman, a concept that Snyder said would be hit hard and often. Many felt an origin story about the man of steel would feel redundant, but it this looks like Nolan and Snyder may pull it off.

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Critics Choice Awards Nominees

The Critics Choice Movie Awards air January 10, 2013. A fun aside, the BFCA is introducing several new categories including “Favorite Fan Franchise,” where all fans vote for the winner. You can vote over at Awards Circuit!

BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
John Hawkes – “The Sessions”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Misérables”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Denzel Washington – “Flight”

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Marion Cotillard – “Rust and Bone”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Javier Bardem – “Skyfall”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Matthew McConaughey – “Magic Mike”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – “The Master”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Ann Dowd – “Compliance”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway – “Les Misérables”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – “Ginger & Rosa”
Kara Hayward – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Tom Holland – “The Impossible”
Logan Lerman – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Suraj Sharma – “Life of Pi”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck – “Argo”
Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Tom Hooper – “Les Misérables”
Ang Lee – “Life of Pi”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Steven Spielberg – “Lincoln”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino – “Django Unchained”
John Gatins – “Flight”
Rian Johnson – “Looper”
Paul Thomas Anderson – “The Master”
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Mark Boal – “Zero Dark Thirty”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio – “Argo”
David Magee – “Life of Pi”
Tony Kushner – “Lincoln”
Stephen Chbosky – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Les Misérables” – Danny Cohen
“Life of Pi” – Claudio Miranda
“Lincoln” – Janusz Kaminski
“The Master” – Mihai Malaimare Jr.
“Skyfall” – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Anna Karenina” – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer; Katie Spencer/Set Decorator
“The Hobbit” – Dan Hennah/Production Designer; Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators
“Les Misérables” – Eve Stewart/Production Designer; Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator
“Life of Pi” – David Gropman/Production Designer; Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
“Lincoln” – Rick Carter/Production Designer; Jim Erickson/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
“Argo” – William Goldenberg
“Les Misérables” – Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens
“Life of Pi” – Tim Squyres
“Lincoln” – Michael Kahn
“Zero Dark Thirty” – William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Anna Karenina” – Jacqueline Durran
“Cloud Atlas” – Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud
“The Hobbit” – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor
“Les Misérables” – Paco Delgado
“Lincoln” – Joanna Johnston

BEST MAKEUP
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit
Les Misérables
Lincoln

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit
Life of Pi

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
Madagascar 3
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
Looper
Skyfall

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Daniel Craig – “Skyfall”
Robert Downey Jr. – “The Avengers”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Looper”
Jake Gyllenhaal – “End of Watch”

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – “Looper”
Gina Carano – “Haywire”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Anne Hathaway – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Jennifer Lawrence – “The Hunger Games”

BEST COMEDY
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This Is 40
21 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jack Black – “Bernie”
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Paul Rudd – “This Is 40”
Channing Tatum – “21 Jump Street”
Mark Wahlberg – “Ted”

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mila Kunis – “Ted”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Shirley MacLaine – “Bernie”
Leslie Mann – “This Is 40”
Rebel Wilson – “Pitch Perfect”

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Cabin in the Woods
Looper
Prometheus

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bully
The Central Park Five
The Imposter
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man
West of Memphis

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AFI Lists 2012's Top Ten

The AFI came out with their top ten list of American films this year. It was quite a pleasant surprise to see The Dark Knight Rises make an appearance, although it may have come at the expense of a film like The Master. Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty at this point have become must-haves for any top ten list for the year. If AFI's selections hold true, December shall bring a great deal of excellent pictures.

ARGO

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

DJANGO UNCHAINED

LES MISÉRABLES

LIFE OF PI

LINCOLN

MOONRISE KINGDOM

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

ZERO DARK THIRTY

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Stare Into the 'Oblivion' Trailer

Joseph Kosinski's new project features another star facing the prospect of being the last man left on Earth. This premise has been done many times before Vincent Price with The Last Man on Earth, Charlton Heston with The Omega Man, Will Smith with I Am Legend, etc. Those three features are all entertaining during the first 2/3rds of the film, but their conclusion leave much to be desired.
So what makes this one more appealing? Morgan Freeman.

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot #8

The game where I throw out one of cinema's more obscure quotes and you try to guess it. Readers are currently 3 for 7. Let's see if you can name the film this quote is from. I warn you, this movie is a clunker...

"Not the beeeees!"

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The Phoenix Project on Kickstarter

The Phoenix Project is just one of many film projects around on Kickstarter, the most famous being David Fincher's Goonies project. The site is a great concept that brings some cinematic dreams to life. This particular concept though is intriguing:

"The film is a psychological sci-fi drama about four scientists who move into a house together to try and reanimate deceased organisms while dealing with the internal balance of ethics, logic, emotion and ingenuity (think Primer, but with biology)."

If you're feeling in the giving mood for the holidays, donate to The Phoenix Project here!

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'Star Trek Into Darkness' Trailer

The anticipation for J.J. Abram's follow-up was already incredibly high to begin with, now, people who don't even enjoy sci-fi want to see this.

By the way, nice creepy voice, Cumberbatch.

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For Your Consideration: Liam Neeson

Widowed husbands are frequently used tropes in action films. It delivers empathy quickly and without wasting a lot of screentime. However, what Liam Neeson does with The Grey is more than A-B-C screenwriting. No shoe-horned breakdown scenes are inserted forcefully into the narrative for the audience to get to know Ottway (Neeson). In the midst of carnal mayhem, he clutches a small picture of his wife in his wallet before he faces what seem like insurmountable odds.

He leads these men through the snow, through the wilderness, through the darkness. That the story doesn't fall into laughable territory suggests the level of gravitas Neeson possesses. In each battle with the elements and its inhabitants, the slowly dying embers of his life crackle to life a little more.

An honest reflection of grief in a film that was marketed as anything but. This is not a performance that garners awards attention, but it should.

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Consider 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Teased

A person looking at wreckage facing away from camera should be its own category. Whoever we're looking at (presumably Benedict Cumberbatch's character) has caused a lot of damage and it looks like J.J. Abrams has upped the mayhem for his sequel. It will be appreciated as Star Trek Into Darkness marks the series' first attempt at the IMAX format.

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Thoughts on 'Les Miserables'

(this post comes from NMPF reader "Optimus Blimey")

One of the perks of being a Californian is that there is never a shortage of screenings for films that are sure to earn a great deal of buzz. I was just lucky enough to be one of a few hundred to attend Tom Hooper's adaptation of Les Miserables.

Officially, this isn't a review, just some thoughts as a favor to Colin.

Hugh Jackman, despite his hulking badassdom was born to play this part. Jean Valjean requires gravitas and Jackman has it in spades. His past performances on Broadway hint at his talents, but his scenes are some of the most exquisite I have seen in a musical.

Anne Hathaway similarly is awesome as Fantine. Hathaway must have been practicing for ages because every note she renders is bliss. I know that Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence are touted as the winners for Best Actress this year, but my gut tells me it should be Hathaway. Who is she supporting? But her time onscreen will only allow for Supporting Actress.

Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried don't pan out as well, unfortunately. While close-up, uninterrupted takes of singing onset work for Jackman and Hathaway, the effect is lost with these three. Crowe looks the part of Javert, yet his comfort level goes out the window when the music swells. One of the key functions of Les Miserables is the romance between Cosette and Marius, but it just doesn't work with these two though they give it their damndest.

As for the look of the film, director Tom Hooper is as fond of dutch angles as ever. Other than that, the feeling is right and the lighting works wonders.

So there it is!

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot #7

The game where I throw out one of cinema's more obscure quotes and you try to guess it. Readers are currently 2 for 6. Let's see if you can name the film this quote is from.

"You’ve got red on you."

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Review: The Man in Black (Killing Them Softly)

Two overwhelmed pseudo-gangsters (Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendehlson) managed, by the skin of their chattering teeth, to take the score. Money is hard to come by in this small town, so the concept of robbing a card game populated by made-men doesn't seem as insane as it would during a better economy. You see they had a scapegoat sitting pretty to take the fall in Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta), the head of the games who managed to pull this same scam years earlier.

These two men however are not long for this world though, Jackie Cogan has been sent to restore confidence to the board. Jackie's services are soon to be required by a corporate board left reeling after the card game left most wealthy men in the city with pockets emptied. Those men want to make sure their money never gets taken again and Cogan can guarantee that.


The scale of Killing Them Softly is considerably smaller than Dominik's last effort, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Rather than focus on a historic figure bordering on mythic, this tale centers on a hitman. This particular hitman, Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt), prefers to strike from a distance, like an act of God. Anything else just gets too emotional.

Cogan prides himself on delivering services in a humane manner—or as humane as it can be for killing them.

Some have said that Killing Them Softly is a rebuke of the last two presidential administrations, but it is much more simple than that. This is a tale about crisis of faith. Whether that money be in a Wall Street institution, or placed in the hands of a man like Trattman. Cogan understand these complaints, a contract killer isn't a murderer anymore, he's a small business. Even the act of putting out a hit has been corporatized, a liaison (Richard Jenkins) must agree to approve any charges that Jackie incurs.

For as often as these moments are hammered home, the overall effect of Killing is uneven. Moments of harsh brutality and cynicism are undercut with grandiose, stylistic shots. Yet even with the occasional overreach on behalf of Andrew Dominik, the ace cast and nuanced performance of Brad Pitt make for a solid genre outing (the last line is one that stays with you out of the theatre). This image of a downtrodden America where even the underground is skimping on dollars.

***/****

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'Hobbit' IMAX Posters Are For the Truly Devoted

Those Hobbit fans watching the film at its midnight premiere on December 14th will take home a very splendid Christmas gift. These four very handsomely crafted posters featuring Gollum, Bilbo Gandalf and Thorin are all in Elvish, so giving them to midnight showing attendees is probably the best idea.

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THR Director's Roundtable

That's quite a cast of high-caliber directors (Affleck, Tarantino, Lee, Russell), my question is why isn't Kathryn Bigelow there? Zero Dark Thirty is one of the most anticipated flicks of the winter and she doesn't get an invite? Odd.

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Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook Lead Spirit Nods

That time is upon us once again, the time where the high caliber films start making waves during awards ceremonies. Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom have landed the first blow with the most nominations for this year's Independent Spirit Awards. The momentum may not carry for Moonrise, but given that SLP is backed by The Weinstein Company, expect a big push for that film.

Keeping my fingers crossed for Jack Black for Bernie, very much deserving of the praise and unlikely to receive its due with Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington and John Hawkes in the fold.

Best Feature

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Bernie

Keep the Lights On

Moonrise Kingdom

Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director

Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom

Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Female Lead

Linda Cardellini, Return

Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

Best Male Lead

Jack Black, Bernie

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On

Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe

Wendell Pierce, Four

Best Supporting Female

Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister’s Sister

Ann Dowd, Compliance

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice

Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere

Best Supporting Male

Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike

David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere

Michael Péna, End of Watch

Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths

Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

Best Screenplay

Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks

Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer)

Fill the Void

Gimme the Loot

Safety Not Guaranteed

Sound of My Voice

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Best First Screenplay

Rama Burshtein, Fill the Void

Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed

Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank

Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Celeste and Jesse Forever

Jonathan Lisecki, Gayby

Best Cinematography

Yoni Brook, Valley of Saints

Lol Crawley, Here

Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Roman Vasyanov, End of Watch

Robert Yeoman, Moonrise Kingdom

Best International Film

Amour

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia

Rust And Bone

Sister

War Witch

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How Christopher Nolan Blew Up Heinz Field

The DVD/Blu-Ray for The Dark Knight Rises doesn't come out until December 4th, but you can catch a glimpse of how they filmed Bane (Tom Hardy) blowing up Gotham Rogues stadium here. Ravens fans will be disappointed to find out it was special effects, I'm sure most hoping that they actually destroyed it.

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Grittiest Addiction Movies of All Time

(this post comes from Lily Reynolds)

Movies can either glamorize drugs, or show their destructive powers. For every Blow there is a gritty, hard hitting movie that shows the true cost of the drug lifestyle. It might be tempting for people to depict drug use as an adventure in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but gritty movies about the hell of drug addiction may prove to be the best way for cinema to convey what life is like as an addict. Some of the more famous drug movies include Pulp Fiction, Withnail and I, Scarface, A Scanner Darkly, Pineapple Express and Training Day. These six gritty drug addiction films take the perspective of the drug addict, some their relations and others the point of view of dealers and narcotics officers.

Christiane F

Perhaps less famous than the other movies on this list, Christiane F is the story of a young teenage girl in Germany in the 1970s. She is bored, yet fascinated by the disco scene. Despite being too young, she gets into one of the clubs and her descent into drug addiction, disco and prostitution begins. This is a tough movie, though best seen in its original German audio rather than the dubbed version.

Midnight Cowboys

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Midnight Cowboys was one of the original dark drug films of its kind. It is also famed for being the only X-rated movie to have won the Best Picture award at the Oscars. Made in 1969, Cowboys captures the life of a Texan who goes to New York for the big life, but gets stuck in a repetitive and seemingly endless cycle of drugs, prostitution and crime. Setting the template from which many have split, Midnight Cowboys nails the glamour, the temptation and then the awful aftermath of when the high fades away.

Requiem for a Dream

Requiem for a Dream does not just follow one person’s battle against drug addiction, but shows the spectrum of addicts from the young to old. The movie is directed by Darren Aronofsky of Black Swan and The Fountain fame. It's not just about heroin, but covers the less famous pills out there.  A complete no-holds-barred look at violence and prostitution, but where Requiem differs from other movies is its banal look at addiction with Sarah (Ellen Burstyn).

The Basketball Diaries

It is not just playboys (the subject of  glamorized drug movies) or the poor who succumb to drugs. As many sports stories have shown with steroids, drugs are rife in sport. The Basketball Diaries follow Jim Carroll’s descent from a budding basketball player to a drug addict. Even as he became a great player and part of a great team, his demons were massing inside of him. Carroll’s drug problem started young, at 13, and the movie follows him playing basketball, fighting addiction, his fall from grace, jail time and his attempts to fight back and reclaim some part of the life he had.

Trainspotting

It is possible to argue that Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting covers both the highs and lows of the user. The movie certainly glorifies them at first, but this is a movie about heroin addiction and this is an addiction that rarely ends well, especially on the screen. The hardest to bear parts of Trainspotting come when Renton (Ewan McGregor) goes cold-turkey. The film proves that getting opiates out of your system is not an easy thing to do and the he tries many times while his friends descend into ever deepening spiral.

Pure

Most movies have been about the drug addicts themselves, but with Pure, the story follows the impact of drug addiction on a young child. This is perhaps the harrowing point of view it could have possibly taken. Even more so than the descent of an addict or the effect on a spouse. The movie’s lead, Paul, is small boy with a mother addicted to heroin. He spends most of his time looking after her and his younger brother. Paul fights with all his limited strength and knowledge to stop his mother from killing herself with the drug, even when he knows he will probably lose.

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot #6

The game where I throw out one of cinema's more obscure quotes and you try to guess it. Readers are 1-5 thus far. This quote is from a film that came into creation purely by the passion of its fanbase. Let's see if you can name the film this quote is from.

"What ain't no country I've ever heard of. They speak English in What?"

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Review: A Man and His Legacy (Lincoln)

Times are contentious in the Union. The Civil War rages on and the death toll is in the hundreds of thousands. Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) has two choices placed before him by his trusted Secretary of State, William Seward (David Strathairn at his wit's end). One, an amendment that would allow for slaves to be freed and the other, a peace agreement with the South. His recent re-election has bundled some goodwill for his agenda and he means to package it for the amendment.

The House is publicly divided between the Democrats, conservative and radical Republicans, with abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens (an Oscar-bound Tommy Lee Jones) corralling his caucus and Seward's task force of Bilbo (James Spader), Latham (John Hawkes) and Schell (Tim Blake Nelson) trading positions for votes.

Despite the heavy title and the prestige that the marketing and advertising have treated Lincoln with, this is not a biopic that showers its protagonist with awe. This is no Honest Abe by any means, he is a wily politician who knows people and what needs to be done to get legislation passed. It is easy to forget over the course of time that these icons were still men. That truth is often lost to time.

A man like President Lincoln casts a long shadow over history. He presided over an unparalleled time of controversy and he united a nation. What makes Lincoln successful is that Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner play with the myths in the shadows.

Here, Lincoln's voice is not rich, it is of a plain speaker. He was not a perfect father, nor a perfect husband. He did not possess a crystal ball, but he held his beliefs with fierce conviction. Some of the Lewis' best scenes come when he is pressed on why he feels slavery has to be abolished at the cost of creating peace between the Confederates and the Union.

One of the directors that Steven Spielberg has been most compared with is John Ford. Now, it is no coincidence that both are masters at utilizing light and landscape. Often during the film Lincoln creates a large shadow walking into the room, but very quickly it shrinks down. The human interactions between him and Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) or Abe and Marie Todd (Sally Field) bring Lincoln down to an earthly scale. Day-Lewis and Sally Field's scenes offer a revelatory take on the dynamic between President and First Lady.

Considering the majority of Lincoln takes place in legislative halls and the halls of the White House, Kushner does an excellent job with the dialogue. The shop-talk portions including Spader, Jones and Strathairn feel like being let in the Capital in the 1860s. Limiting the scope of Lincoln's life was the best possible decision that Spielberg and Kushner could have made.

Whatever hold-ups some may have with Spielberg handling Lincoln are largely unfounded. Frequent collaborator, John Williams, refrains from creating swells of music that take viewers out of the drama of the moment. The tone is not Pollyanna-esque as one would expect, Lewis plays Lincoln as the world-weary man tired of war on his watch and tired of what humans are capable of doing to one another.

What Spielberg's film does is take Lincoln out of his marble casing and let's him stretch his legs amongst the people.

***1/2 out of ****

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